Teviv Throws a Welcoming Party for the Team
obscure the sky, darkening the area. They send an unforgiving sheet of rain down to the ground as a battle rages. A giant To'kustar, 170 feet tall, is being surrounded by eight humans, some of them soldiers, some of them officers, and all of them with little experience fighting To'kustars; Hadria Carter, Tuesday Smith, Nathan Loretta, Kathryn Wesley, Susan Quell, Derek Brady, Prescott Martin, and Ryan Thames all fly around the To'kustar in different direction, trying to bring it down. Nathan: If we take down its arms, we stop its most powerful attack. flies inwards at the To'kustar, with Kathryn just beside him. Both of them slash the To'kustar along the right forearm, injuring it, but not severely enough for it to react. It fires its deadly beam out of its left arm, sweeping the arm across, following the two members of the Regional Squad Corps. On the other side, Ryan Thames flies by the back of the To'kustar's left arm, stabbing the sword in his right hand into the alien's elbow. He leaves it in and draws a new sword as he turns around and faces the To'kustar, preparing to launch an attack up the beast's arm. Before he can, Susan and Prescott boost along the arm, each slicing it with one of their swords as they approach the beast's head. They both jump off, but Prescott jumps farther forward and aims for the frill. He holds both his swords to his right as he flies past the frill, but as he makes contact, the To'kustar forms a crystallized barrier in front of the weak spot, protecting it. In slow motion, Prescott looks back at the frill, noticing the crystal. life flashing before his eyes: How? at regular speed, the To'kustar swiftly swings its left arm across its face, smacking Prescott and sending him tumbling to the ground. He lands hard on the ground, still alive, but writhing in pain. Susan diverts her course, flying behind the To'kustar's head instead of in front of it. She manages to a deliver a blow to the nape of the neck of the To'kustar with one of her swords, but then panics and flies away to a safe distance. Below, Hadria and Tuesday are working on the right leg of the alien. They quickly spin around it, slashing it, as if trying to cut off the right ankle. At the other leg, Derek delivers a blow to the back of the leg with both swords, stopping at the back of the knee and then flipping over his back in midair, floating back to prepare a strike directly at the back of the knee. He powers himself forward, but the To'kustar blocks his path with a beam from his right hand. Derek backs away to avoid the beam, and Nathan, who was flying at the To'kustar's chest, nosedives upward to avoid. He loops around, spiraling down to regroup with Hadria and Tuesday. Nathan: It's too durable to disable with only eight people, and it protected its frill by crystallizing it. Tuesday: What can we do then? Nathan: Drive it away from the city. It's our only option until we get more reinforcements. and Tuesday stop their barrage of the right ankle in order to meet with Nathan. Tuesday: So you're saying we're stuck in a never ending fight? thinking: There's got to be a better way. he says this, the To'kustar starts to fire a beam right at them. Tuesday flies to the left, and Nathan and Hadria fly to the right. They turn upwards as they loop around to the To'kustar's back. Nathan: Our best bet is to hold it off long enough until a full military team can arrive. continue to fly past the To'kustar. Hadria: What about the rest of my team? Nathan: I don't want to put any of their lives in danger. Hadria: Oh, but you don't care about mine? Nathan: First of all, you're stronger than the rest of them, and second of all, I don't need to worry about your life. Hadria: Is this back to that whole Esper thing? Nathan: You don't have to believe me. I'll prove it to you someday. Maybe once we're safely in Teviv I'll tell you more about them. ---- camera shows the area between Wall Via and Ateria. Many To'kustars, all of them shorter than the massive one near Teviv, around 20-30 feet tall each, head for the newly formed opening in the wall surrounding Ateria. A group of Aterian policemen, including Wayne Holcomb and Samuel Wright fly around the To'kustars, preventing as many from entering the city as possible. Closer to wall Via, some taller To'kustars, between 40 and 100 feet tall, roam around as other officers fight them. Samuel flies towards a To'kustar, slashing it in the neck. He circles around and strikes it in the fin, killing it. As he does so, however, two more To'kustars manage to enter the city. Samuel: There's too many of them... shouting: Where's Connor when you need him? camera cuts to inside the city. Many To'kustars, none of them taller than 30 feet, are roaming around just inside the wall. Connor Yan flies in from the center of the city, holding a sword in his only good hand. He swerves down a side street, flying low to the ground. He loops around at an intersection, gaining height as he approaches a To'kustar. He slices one in the fin, killing it, before immediately heading for the next one. He moves like a bullet from To'kustar to To'kustar and he flies parallel to the wall, killing a second, then a third, then a fourth, all without any assistance and only one hand. He turns and slows down, landing on a building as he walks towards the wall. Connor: Maybe it's not so bad. turns to his left as sees a To'kustar slowly running at him, unlike the others which were walking. He jumps up and flies over the To'kustar's head as it runs past him and slams into the building. He strikes the To'kustar in the fin, killing it; he then bursts forwards and zooms at the wall. As he approaches, he gains altitude, flying in a path that will send him over the wall. He turns around and continues to float up as he watches the city; the To'kustars in it continue to roam around, and far away the people run and flee. poetically: So is this the beginning of the end? continues to float back and finally arrives at the top of the wall. He lands on it and looks at the battle raging beyond it, with the officers fighting the To'kustars. Above him, the clouds continue to swirl, as the storm from the north finally reaches the city, and the rain begins to pour down, cooling the air. answering himself: Yes, I think it is. This is the first battle of many, the first in a war for the future of humanity. Song several of the officers continue to attempt to hold the To'kustars off, to no success, Connor flies towards Samuel and Wayne. Samuel: Connor! Connor: What's the status of the officers? Samuel: No casualties, but we've made very little progress. So many To'kustars have gotten into the city. Connor: Got it... turns to the city then back to Samuel. Connor: I want everyone to start helping people evacuate from the city. I'll continue rounding up the To'kustars in the city and make my way to the north gate. Samuel: What about the Knights, sir? They disappeared. Connor: We don't have time to worry about them, just follow me. flies back over the wall, heading for the To'kustars at the center of the city. Samuel and Wayne reluctantly follow him. brash as always: Who does this guy think he is!? camera cuts to Connor flying at a To'kustar near the park where the Knights' base is. He slashes it in the fin as he flies by, sending it toppling to the ground. voice over: ...And why does he think he can just tell us what to do!? lands on the ground and starts walking towards a To'kustar in the middle of the park. It has destroyed the fountain and sent the water in it across the ground, not that the ground would be dry anyway due to the rain. Connor: I think I'm going to get sick of killing you ugly freaks of nature pretty quickly. jumps and approaches the To'kustar. Avoiding a swing from its arm, he rushes past it, slicing a deep wound into the fin, killing the To'kustar. He flies up to get a better view of the surrounding area, and then flies off towards the northern gate. Connor: I shouldn't have agreed to stay in the city alone with basically no help. It's a mockery of my ability. looks to the left, and then turns his head slowly to the right, seeing no To'kustars anywhere near then northern part of the city. He bursts forwards, racing to the gate. After a few moments, he slows down and lands in the middle of a group of people standing around the gate. Connor: And what are you planning to do once I open the gate? widens his eyes. He looks directly in front of him and sees Lars, Viola, and Sonia Schmidt standing with the group. Connor walks towards them as they turn around and notice him. Lars: To answer your question, we're planning on heading north, to Teviv. Connor: That's not realistic. The path is too dangerous, and a large group of people is sure to attract To'kustars. Lars: Then what are we to do? Connor: Honestly, I don't know. You could stay in the city, but now that the wall's been destroyed, it's not safe. Or you could leave the city, but the path to Teviv isn't safe either. Lars: So which is it? Run or stay? angry: I said I don't know! Leaving the city is probably better, because things might get even worse later, but... There's no telling that Teviv, or even any other city is safe. camera transitions to the fight with the 170 foot To'kustar outside Teviv. voice over: There could be To'kustars attacking there, too... the fight rages with the To'kustar, the camera cuts to Lawrence Carter, Sven Schmidt, Arik Iverson, Michael James, Teru Hikami, Noelle Williams, and Lily Scott standing on the top of the wall surrounding Teviv, watching the fight. Michael: Can't we do anything to help them? Teru: We've made it to the city, dude, and now you want to go back out there and fight? Michael: You think we're safe here? [Teru closes his eyes, admitting his oversight. Lawrence: I know you guys want to help, but this To'kustar is unlike anything we've seen before. It's intelligent, it has that beam attack, and it can crystallize its skin. It's not going down as easily as the ones you guys took down. stepping forward: I don't care. looks at Sven, being somewhat lenient with him. Sven: As a soldier-in-training, I have to be willing to risk my life. stern: No. Think of your family, Sven. What do you think their reaction would be if I told them I let you go into battle with the most powerful To'kustar known to man and let you die? clenches his fist. Sven: I'm not weak. Humanity isn't weak. We can beat the To'kustars damn it! Arik: The soldiers out there... they're the ones who can lead humanity to victory... You're just a kid. forming tears: You're one to talk! Arik: It's not you... We're all just kids... Noelle: Even the most well-trained soldiers have little experience fighting. turning to Lawrence: What about Hadria!? Why is she out there? Lawrence: She's my own daughter. It's different than your situation! Sven: Are you saying you don't care about her life?! Lawrence: I'm saying my necessary level of protection for non-family members is higher than for Hadria... If anyone dies, I'll be devastated, but if one of you dies, others will be devastated, too, and then I'll be even more devastated because it will have been my fault. snaps back, realizing Lawrence's point. Tears start to flood from his eyes. He turns around to watch the fight with the massive To'kustar. Most of the group is maintaining its distance from the alien, with only Nathan and Kathryn doing most of the work. They circle around the To'kustars legs, occasionally delivering blows to its legs or side. With the To'kustar facing the city, the officers wait far off to its left side, while Hadria and Tuesday wait on its right. Hadria: They're the best out of all of us, but even they're not match for it. confused: Why did we not know about these powers until now? I mean, beams attacks, crystallized skin...? No one's ever seen anything like that before... is this the only To'kustar than can do it or have they developed that power in the last 500 years? Hadria: Beats me. I want to know how much bigger these things get. First there was the massive one near Ateria, but this one is at least 50 feet taller. continues to watch the fight. Kathryn slashes along the back of the To'kustars right arm, going off and then flying away, in anticipation of another beam attack. Nathan continues to slice at the To'kustar's left side, underneath its arm. softly: An opening... confused: Huh? turns to Hadria and sees that Hadria has started to fly around towards the To'kustar's back. worried: Where are you going!? flies until she gets directly behind the To'kustar. She draws two swords and flies directly at the To'kustar, gaining speed as she approaches it's back. As she gets closer, she gains altitude, going high enough to fly over the To'kustar. She zooms upwards and makes it over the To'kustar's head. She comes to stop, aims downwards, and then pile drives down towards the fin. Tuesday watches, as do Nathan and Kathryn, the officers, and from the wall, Lawrence and the children. As she makes contact with the frill, the To'kustar crystallizes its skin once again, shattering both of Hadria's swords. In slow motion, she rebounds off the To'kustar, noticing the crystallization. The To'kustar moves its left hand up, and prepares to fire a beam at Hadria. Back at regular speed, the camera snaps to Lawrence. traumatized: HADRIA! before the To'kustar starts to fire, Nathan zooms in, taking Hadria out of the way with him. The beam erupts past them, quickly ending as the To'kustar notices its miss. As his momentum carries him forward, Nathan looks back, and the To'kustar roars. Moments later, another flash of red lightning comes down from the sky, striking the To'kustar and letting out an immense burst of steam, completely obscuring the To'kustar from view. Still holding Hadria with his left arm, Nathan shields his eyes with his right arm as the steam rushes outwards. The others watching the To'kustar shield their eyes as well. After a steam clears, Nathan comes to a halt, staring breathlessly at the space where the To'kustar once was. Nathan lets Hadria go, as she continues to breath heavily, with her heart racing. short of breath: I thought you didn't need to worry about my life. Nathan: So you believe me now? Hadria: If I can't die, why'd you save me? Nathan: I thought I'd save your father the heart attack. lets out a brief laugh as Tuesday flies over. joyously: You're an idiot, you know that? Hadria: I got the To'kustar to disappear, didn't I? Tuesday: I guess so... turns to Nathan. Tuesday: I made my decision... smiles, happily and genuinely. Tuesday: I'm sticking with the team. Nathan: Glad to hear you're leaving the Knights... In truth, I don't even know if Kathryn and I are staying with the team; our only orders were to escort them here, and after that... I think Connor wants us to head back to Ateria. turns to look at the group standing on top of the wall. Lawrence seems to have relaxed, and the children seem fine. Lily waves at Hadria. Nathan: It's been a long couple of days, hasn't it been? rain starts to let up as the storm passes. Nathan looks into the sky and sees the sun start to emerge from the clouds, as the afternoon starts to grow old. jokingly: Well, none of the mortals died... looks at Hadria and then at Nathan. secretively: Are we the only three that know? Nathan: Kathryn knows, and Pietro must know, which means at this point most of the Knights must know... But no one else on the team does, and I intend to keep it that way. he finishes saying that, Kathryn, Ryan, Prescott, Susan, and Derek fly over to them. Ryan: So you guys finally made it... Hadria: Looks like we did. looks over at the group on the wall before quickly turning back to Hadria, Tuesday, and Nathan. Ryan: Well, then I'd like to be the first one to officially welcome you to Teviv. ---- The Explorer Division trains for missions beyond Wall Via, in hopes of learning more about the To'kustars and reclaiming land for humanity. As of yet, the Explorers have yet to actually go beyond the walls. Their only planned mission had to be cancelled due to a fire that burned their supplies. ---- camera shows the skies over Teviv. The storm has passed, leaving streaky clouds across the sky as the sun starts to set on the early evening. Birds fly across the sky, as peace is maintained. In the city proper, families relax, carriages move throughout the town, and children play in an open area, not knowing about the return of the To'kustars. camera cuts to inside the main police station in the city. In a large meeting room, many familiar faces and many new ones walk around, talking with each other, though some of the familiar faces are missing. Prescott, Susan, and Derek reunite with Logan, as well as Jonah Bishop, another member of the Wall Brigade, and talk in a corner. Sven, Arik, Michael, and Teru stand along the side of the wall, talking, as Hadria, Lily, and Noelle talk near them. Towards the middle of the room, Nathan, Kathryn, and Tuesday talk. Along the other wall, several children stand in a line: they are Pryor Hade, Rachel Stone, Nico Valencia, and Sophia Faraday. Not found are Lawrence and Ryan. the conversations continue, with no specific thoughts emerging in the cacophony of noise, Lawrence and Ryan enter the room. All the groups stop their conversations to turn to them. Lawrence: Thank you all for gathering here... looks around and stops. Lawrence: As you can see there are a lot of you, and I know you've each got your own things to do, so I'll keep this brief. clears his throat. Lawrence: This is our team... The start of something big... It's a reason to hope for the future of humanity despite the return of the To'kustars. We must be faithful and believe that we can succeed, and by doing so, we will gain confidence. hearing this, Nathan looks at Hadria, remembering what she told him towards the start of the trip to Teviv about her father's lesson involving faith and confidence. Lawrence: We must also realize that the To'kustars are stronger than they were 500 years ago, and that to defeat them, we must work hard. pauses for a moment. Lawrence: Of course, we wouldn't be able to train if it weren't for our wonderful members of the military, speaking of which... steps to the side as a woman, Krista Renth, enters the room. interrupting: Krista! Lawrence: I'd like to introduce Krista Renth, head of Regional Squad 11. She lives in Teviv and will be on leave from her squad to help our team. Krista: I'm looking forward to help. Lawrence: I'd also like to introduce four new trainees... points to the left wall, where the four children are standing. Starting on the left and going one at a time to the right, they introduce themselves with the standard military salute: placing the left hand in a fist straight behind the back, while placing the right hand in a fist at the left shoulder, with the arm diagonally across the chest. Pryor: Pryor Hade. Rachel: Rachel Stone. Nico: Nico Valencia. Sophia: Sophia Faraday. Sophia says her name, Nathan's eyes widen in shock, but he doesn't say anything, and no one appears to notice. Everyone turns back to Lawrence now that the children are done introducing themselves. Lawrence: We'll start our training the day after tomorrow. You have until then to get familiar with the city and prepare yourself mentally for what's to come... Okay, that's all I have. Go back to doing whatever you're doing... exits the room, and Ryan follows, but Krista remains. Kathryn walks over to talk with Krista, as the two appear to be good friends. Krista: Long time no see, Kathryn! How's Maya? Kathryn: I haven't seen her in a couple weeks, but as far I know she's great. Being the head of the Royal Guard isn't exactly the easiest job in the world. Krista: Yeah, that's understandable... So are these the other two members of your squad now? I haven't heard from you since one of your old members retired. Kathryn: Yeah, Nathan replaced Craig, but Connor's still on the team... Krista: Oh, where is he? Kathryn: He's in Ateria, helping the police there... trailing off: Of course he is... Kathryn and Krista continue to talk, Nathan turns to Sophia and looks at her for a moment. He stares blankly for a moment, as if thinking or wondering about something. He then snaps back to reality and turns to Tuesday. Nathan: Oh, that's right, I was going to ask you if you knew where the Forever Knights base was in this town. Tuesday: I don't know, no. This is my first time ever in this city. Nathan: That's okay... Tuesday: Is something wrong? Nathan: Not really, it's just... turns to Sophia again and then starts to walk over to her. She is talking with Pryor, Rachel, and Nico, but stops as Nathan approaches. Sophia: Yes? Nathan: Is your father in town? I'm good friends with him and I'd like to meet up with him if he's here. confused: Yeah, he's in town... Nathan: Great, can you take me to see him? confused: Um, sure... camera cuts to Sophia and Nathan exiting the police station, hours later, after the sun has set. Logan leaves right after them, but he doesn't appear to be following them. curious: Where you two going? Nathan: Turns out I know her dad. I'm going to meet him again. Logan: Ah, take care. group, having turned to the left after leaving the station, splits up, as Logan continues straight, but Nathan and Sophia turn down a side street. Logan stops to watch Nathan lead Sophia down the street, doing so for no apparent reason. The camera cuts ahead to the two. Nathan: Your father will definitely be surprised when he sees me. they turn the corner, Nathan suddenly stops a look down. He sees a man in front of him, holding a knife into his stomach. He jerks in pain as he stares at the man, who is wearing a dark mask covering his face. Nathan: Sophia... RUN! man simply lets Sophia run past him, as he holds the knife into Nathan's gut. Logan watches from afar, but doesn't move closer, not wanting the man to do anything worse to Nathan. Man: The Forever Knights send their greetings. in pain but not severely: Show your face, bastard! Man: Want to know who I am so desperately? sticks the knife in harder. Man: Too bad... looks to the side and sees Logan watching. Nathan: Damn, someone's watching... starts to grab his side, making it look like he's in more pain than he actually is. Nathan: And neither of these guys are Espers! Talk about bad luck... man continues to hold the knife in Nathan's gut. Nathan: If Logan wasn't here I could get out of this, but with him here's it's just too risky. Man: If you really do want to find out who I am, you're going to have to come with me. Nathan: Never gonna happen, pal. Man: Fine then, don't-- is interrupted by a man behind him placing his hand on his head. Before a second passes, the second man delivers an electrical shock to the masked man, sending him falling to the ground. The knife falls out of Nathan's gun, and he drops to a knee for a moment as his wound heels. He looks up at the man, who is Trevor Faraday, Sophia's father. Sophia stands about thirty feet behind him. Nathan stands up with the help of Trevor. Trevor: Long time no see, Nathan. Nathan: Thanks for the save. Trevor: What are friends for? Nathan: So are we heading back to your place? Trevor: Sure, why not? and Trevor start to walk towards Sophia. She turns around and walks next to them as they head for the Faraday residence. The camera cuts and shows Logan, standing in the side street, shocked at what he's just seen. Logan: ...The hell did I just see? camera slowly pans above and shows a man standing at the edge of the roof of a building above, watching Nathan, Trevor, and Sophia walk away as the masked man lies on the ground. The man is Maxwell Wagner, a member of the Forever Knights. Max: So it appears we have another Esper... Pietro will be glad to here that... turns around and walks away from the edge. Max: And when he arrives, we'll decide how exactly we'll capture one of them... arrives at the other edge and looks at the three as they continue to walk down the street, unaware of anyone watching them. Max: And the best part is, I already have an excellent idea of what to do... camera zooms in Sophia, as Max presumably prepares to capture her. End